Bone relic of St. Augustine open for public veneration in Manila

Fr. Dennis Ruiz, Postulator General of the Order of Augustinian Discalced (OAD) with the Bone relic of St. AugustinePhoto by Leandro-Jose C. Tesorero

The bone relic of the Theologian and Doctor of the Church, St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, will be opened for public veneration in various parishes in Metro Manila from June 5 to 8 as part of its nationwide pilgrimage.

On June 5, the relic will be venerated at Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park at 12 nn to 5 p.m. Postulator General of the Order of Augustinian Discalced (OAD), Fr. Dennis Ruiz, will deliver a special talk on Holiness and Veneration of Relics, at 4 p.m. to be followed by a Thanksgiving Mass at the Greenbelt Chapel in Makati at 5:45 p.m.

On June 6, the relic will be welcomed by the faithful from Paranaque with the centuries-old image of the Mother of St. Augustine at the Chapel of St. Monica – Don Galo, which will be followed by a Penitential processional walk going to the Cathedral Parish of St. Andrew. The Welcome Mass and Public veneration will run from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the same day.

From June 7 to 8, the relic will be exposed for public veneration at the Basilica Minore de San Sebastian at Plaza Del Carmen, Manila. Masses will be held in honor of the Holy Father Saint Augustine. Fr. Ruiz will also deliver a talk on the Lives of Saints and the Relics on June 7 at 8p.m. in light of the commemoration of the Year of the Clergy and Consecrated Persons.

The Bone relic of St. Augustine

The Pilgrim Relic Visit was a dream come true for Fr. Ruiz, who arranged the entire pilgrimage together with various Filipino collaborators and brought the relic all the way from their General Curia in Rome, Italy.

St. Augustine was ordained priest in year 391 and became a full Bishop four years after. He died in Hippo Regius (now Algeria) during the year 430 at the age of 75. His remains are now kept at the Church of San Pietro in CielD’oro Pavia, Italy. His writings like the City of God influenced the development of Christianity and Western philosophy. (Leandro-Jose C. Tesorero and Jheng Manalang Prado/RCAM-AOC)